THREE bales of wool donated by Primaries of WA have raised $5522 to help the victims of the Waroona bushfire.
The Merino fleece, which averaged 18.6 micron, 66.9 per cent yield, 69mm staple length and 36Nkt with a comfort factor of 99pc, was the first lot auctioned by Primaries at the Western Wool Centre on Wednesday last week.
Spirited bidding pushed the price to 1100 cents per kilogram greasy before senior auctioneer Terry Winfield knocked it down to Russell Fraser, wool buyer for Techwool Trading.
The sale price was 170c/kg higher than the valuation Primaries had put on the wool.
Primaries of WA general manager Andrew Lindsay said the proceeds of the sale were donated to the Lord Mayor's Distress Relief Fund to help fire victims.
"It wasn't just Primaries as a corporate citizen deciding to do its bit," Mr Lindsay said.
"Our staff were really keen to find a way to help the appeal.
"We had a lot of support from our staff to do something so we settled on donating some of our own wool.
"Primaries has a number of cattle clients in the area that were involved with the fire."
Mr Lindsay said the Australian Wool Testing Authority had also donated its services for testing the wool.
He said he was very pleased with the result, particularly the competition for the wool.
"It wasn't just a donation bid, there were three or four genuine bidders chasing the wool," he said.
Mr Fraser said Techwool Trading was happy to pay the price.
"It's for a good cause, it's all about the cause," he said.